This is a relic condition lid for a fruit preserve tin distributed by Wells and Provost Proprietors.  The company’s Spratt’s patent was established for a self-sealing can for preserving fruits and vegetables.

The item is lead with a few signs of wear around the lip.  It measures 2 ½” round.  The outer rim reads (clockwise) “WELLS & PROVOST PROPRIETORS, N.Y”.  On the inner circle of the lid the patent name and date are stamped- “SPRATT’S PATNET/ JULY 18, 1854/ IMPROVED”.

The item came from the Shields collection. Ott Shields amassed one of the earliest and well-known collections of Gettysburg artifacts.  In 1918, he opened a private museum that featured the “Shields Collection,” one of the few documented Gettysburg collections obtained by local families (Rosensteel; Danner; Wert; Mumper; Ziegler, etc.).  The Shields Museum closed in the 1980s and the collection was sold at auction on November 16, 1985.  Offering over 600 lots “comprised mostly of Gettysburg battlefield pick-up relics,” the auction attracted several hundred Civil War collectors, dealers, and museum buyers.  [mk] [ph:m]

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